Media: Hit or Miss - Church of England 'apologises' to Darwin for condemning theory of evolution

September 19, 2008

The Church of England hit the headlines this week for its apology to Charles Darwin for 'misunderstanding' his theory of evolution. The Church posted an article on its website apologising to the scientist 126 years after his death. The story was picked up by The Times, Guardian and Daily Mail. Some members of Darwin's family said he would have been pleased, but another called the move 'pointless'.

I spoke to someone in Church of England comms just after the Darwin
story broke and expressed my doubts over the apology. He replied: 'Well,
everyone knows about it now.' He has a point. I despise politicians who
apologise for historical atrocities as much as I do the people that
demand they apologise. The sins of the father can't be delivered on the
children. But Darwin never picked a fight with Christians and the Church
behaved abusively. That institution is in the business of repentance and
redemption and it's right to apologise. And, in that reconciliation, it
draws attention to how faith and reason are compatible. That point might
not have gained coverage without the apology.